Review: The Blessed by Tonya Hurley

From the author of the “New York Times” bestselling ghostgirl series, the start to a captivating and haunting teen trilogy about three girls who become entangled with an enigmatic boy–a boy who believes he is a saint.What if martyrs and saints lived among us? And what if you were told you were one of them?

Meet Agnes, Cecilia, and Lucy. Three lost girls, each searching for something. But what they find is Beyond Belief.

My Review:

A story about redemption and the ancient history of Saints, THE BLESSED will take you on a wild ride of discovery along with Lucy, Cecilia, and Agnes. Hurley’s take on Saints is fascinating and stands on its own in the YA genre. I couldn’t read fast enough! There is so much going on and with the way Hurley has written the novel, the pages fly by. I can say with absolute surety that THE BLESSED will be among my favorites of 2012.

Lucy, Cecilia, and Agnes are each broken in different ways when we are first introduced to them. They are all suffering from within with what the world has dealt them in their lives. All three seem to be beyond help until they come across these beautiful but mysterious bracelets in different ways, all linked to a guy who has secrets of his own. In THE BLESSED, their destinies will be revealed to them and they’ll have to learn to come together and an unseen enemy to embrace who they are.

While it is somewhat difficult to be sympathetic towards the girls in the beginning, as the novel plays out, the girls begin to soften a bit and grow into better people. All the girls have had to deal with harsh events and destructive people in their lives, which has made them into who they are. I think my favorite of all three girls was Agnes because she has a soft side and isn’t prone to incessant fighting.

There is an underlying mystery in THE BLESSED that will draw readers in and refuse to let them go. I was always trying to figure out what exactly was going on and why these girls in particular were drawn together. One figure whom I could never quite figure out was the illusive Sebastian. He is somehow connected to the girls and it takes quite a while to understand his place in their story.

THE BLESSED is a very unique YA novel in that the subject matter is something that I’ve never seen explored in any novel that I’ve read before. I don’t have any knowledge of the Saints but after reading THE BLESSED, I have a better understanding of who they were and what their place was in religious history. Even if you aren’t a religious person, you will still find yourself drawn into the novel and unable to stop. THE BLESSED is sure to be a hit when it releases!

Nice review, Bailey. I’m curious about this one…I was randomly sent a copy…but I didn’t know if I would enjoy it or not. I suppose I should give it a shot though. The cover kind of creeps me out in a way though. LOL